Monthly Archives: April 2014

On Friday, April 11, 2014, from 6:00 P.M., I attended the University of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law 40th Anniversary Kanikapila with Tricia Nakamatsu that was held on the lawn in front of Iolani Palace’s barracks. After, I went with Brandon Mitsuda to the Boys Bunch’s April Foolish event for Make a Wish held at M and outside by Row Bar.

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I left Hawaii with my family (mom, dad, sister Lara, sister Mia, brother-in-law Mike, and niece Elyse) on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 and arrived in Japan on March 26, 2014. We returned to Honolulu, Hawaii on Thursday, April 3, 2014.

Wed. 3/26/14 – We ate bentos from Family Mart for dinner.

Thurs. 3/27/14 – We ate breakfast at Osaka station and visited Osaka castle during the morning and then caught a train to Nara Park in Nara, Japan. We eat a green tea kochi with azuki inside in Nara town. We returned to Osaka city and ate ramen (thick broth) near our hotel.

Fri. 3/28/14 – My family and I took a train from Osaka to Kyoto. We arrived at Kyoto Station and got settled at New Miyako Hotel. I found a restaurant in Kyoto Station that served traditional Kyoto cuisine. I had a ochazuke with raw fish – very tasty.

Saturday, 3/29/14 – We went to Fushimi Inari Shrine, a Shinto shrine that has many toris and a trail that goes up the mountain. It was a very nice hike and my whole family made it to the top.

We went back to Kyoto Station and dad and I picked up bentos. My mom, Mia, Mike, Elyse, and Lara bought bakery goods.

In the evening, we went to Kyomizu-dera. It was my 2nd time there and it was beautiful! The temple had a search light in the mountain above the temple. There were cherry blossom trees and others that were lighted. The view was beautiful from the top of the temple. We had dinner at a sukiyaki all-you can eat restaurant. My sister Mia and her family went back to the hotel early.

Sunday, 3/30/14 – We ate breakfast at Kyoto Station. I had a croissant sandwich and coffee. I also picked up kochi donuts – one strawberry sugar and another seemed to be honey-flavored.

At about 11 A.M. – We caught a train from Kyoto to Osaka. Then at about noon, we departed on a shinkansen or bullet train heading from Osaka to Hiroshima. I reserved a dinner for our family at an oyster restaurant near one of Hiroshima’s rivers about a mile away from the Hiroshima train station.

Monday, 3/31/14 – My dad, mom, Lara, and I visited the Hiroshima castle. There were come beautiful cherry blossom trees there. Meanwhile, Mike visited the Peace Museum. My dad and I ate okonimiyaki while my sister Lara something else and my mom ate soba noodles. For dinner, my mom, dad, Lara, and I went to a restaurant near our hotel. I tried the hamburger with gravy dish for the first time.

Tuesday, 4/1/14 – We traveled by train from Hiroshima to Yudaonsen and stayed at Hotel Matsumasa in rooms 656 and 657. The meal at the hotel was fantastic. I went into the onset that night, both the indoor and outdoor ones.

Wednesday, 4/2/14 – We had breakfast at the hotel, the had Elyse play at a playground where the was a food onset that I tried. The cherry blossoms at the park were beautiful. We caught the train to Oshima area where we took 2 cabs to Oshima town to visit my ancestors at the Jodo Shu temple there. We took the train to Hakata Station in Fukuoaka city and ate ramen at the station. That night, Lara and I walked to Canal City (shopping center) and back at the department stores at the station.

Thursday 4/3/14 – We all walked to Canal City and the department stores at Hakata Station. We ate Kyobashi raimen at Canal City’s ramen city. Elyse enjoyed playing with the shooting water. Caught the evening flight out of Fukuoka airport to Honolulu Airport.

JON RIKI KARAMATSU · In my work as a lawyer, consultant, and entrepreneur, I enjoy building and expanding companies. In my past, I served eight years as a Hawaii State Representative; owned an Internet retail business for ten years; served four and a half years as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Legislative Liaison for the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, City and County of Honolulu; and produced campaign, cultural, and music events since 2002. As a lawyer, I advocate for entities that need new or amended rules, regulations, and/or statutes by drafting legislation, resolutions, and/or proposals, followed by written and oral testimonies before government bodies. I also assist companies with government incentives, special revenue bonds, government applications, government permits, public and private grants, proactive legal defense strategies, product and services development, marketing, public affairs, and media affairs. Further, I review, draft, and negotiate business agreements and documents. Every so often, I help clients in settling disputes through negotiation, mediation, and/or arbitration. Further, I'm a partner in a start-up aviation fixed-base operator company in Hawaii, which we plan to break ground in 2019. I enjoy creative writing as well, completing a paranormal, romance, historical, and suspense novel based in Hawaii during the 2000s that has been copyrighted and is being shopped around for representation. I'm currently writing my second novel, a historical, romance, and suspense story based in Iraq during the U.S. occupation and war.